Abstract Some observed results of NH 3 (1, 1) and (2, 2) line emission in the starless dark cloud L183 are reported. Our observation suggests that the dense core of L183 has a size of ~ 0.16 pc ×0.1 pc with a mass of ~ 12 M⊙. A velocity gradient of 4 km s−1pc−1 from the north to the south was detected. The velocity shift corresponds to a central mass of ~5M⊙. If it is caused by rotation, the mass would be much less than the value above. This suggests that there may be more mass in the envelope of L183 than in the central region. The analysis of our data and the evidence in the literature about L183 indicate that it may be undergoing a process of collapsing to form a low-mass binary dense core.

Keywords ISM: clouds --- Stars: formation --- Stars: low-mass

null